Metascore®Generally favorable reviewsbased on a weighted average of allcritic review scores.

63

out of 100

USA TodayMike Clark

The recent model for this kind of surreal jazz-riff comedy is Doug Liman's 1999 "Go," a neo-classic. But you know already from the director (Dude, Where's My Car?'s Danny Leiner) if this movie is for you. Leiner has cornered the recent market on low-rent farces.

I laughed often enough during the screening of Harold & Kumar that afterward I told Dann Gire, distinguished president of the Chicago Film Critics' Assn., that I thought maybe I should rent "Dude, Where's My Car?" and check it out.

Parents need to know that this movie wallows in bad taste and is cheerfully vulgar and offensive in every possible category. It includes constant drug use, bad language, extremely explicit toilet humor, and frequent and explicit sexual references and situations. There is comic violence, some graphic, including a scene in surgery with a lot of blood and a disfigured man. While some characters are bigoted and there is a lot of homophobic and racist humor, a strength of the movie is the portrayal of diverse characters.

Families can talk about how Harold and Kumar deal with pressure from family and co-workers. What does it mean to say that "the universe tends to unfold as it should?"

Parents can talk to kids about drug and alcohol use. What are the real life consequences? How is drug use portrayed in the media?

The good stuff

Messages: Rampant homophobic and racist humor meant as over the top. But -- almost unheard of in Hollywood -- the movie's titular stars are Asian and Indian.

Role models: The lead characters can be charming and funny, but make some bad choices and smoke pot constantly.

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